Life Without Derek
by RINTEND0
Summary: When things are rough who do you turn to? Your best friend? Nahhh, she's mad at you. Sam? noooo! He's your ex.. Your mom? Your little sister? What if none of them are capable of listening? Downward spiral here I come!
1. Chapter One

A/N: this is my first Life With Derek story. I hope you like it. Sorry it's so short. Update reall soon if you review!

_**Life without Derek**_

_**Chapter 1**_

"I hate you!" Casey McDonald yelled as she stormed out of the living room and up the stairs. Anger nearly pulsed from her. Derek had really done it this time. In retaliation for her going out with Sam, which had been over for quite some time, he had asked Emily to the Valentine's Dance only to stand her up. Casey could not believe that he would stoop so low! He had gotten Emily's spirits up and had broken her heart.

Derek sat in his recliner, watching some game, though not really watching it. He actually did feel bad for standing Emily up, though he hadn't intended to. Sure, he didn't like her, but he had planned to at least go with her to the dance. He wanted Casey to see that you weren't supposed to date your sibling's best friend- even though they were just stepsiblings. He wasn't sure why that thought bothered him as it did, but he didn't care either. The fact was that something came up, like his on-again off-again girlfriend Kendra. He knew he had taken it too far for Casey this time so he didn't bother arguing back.

Casey slammed her door and picked up the phone. She dialed the familiar digits that connected her to Emily. The phone rang and rang. She sighed. Emily was not answering her calls. She hadn't really expected her to, but she couldn't see why she was blaming her. Casey had tried to warn her, but she didn't listen. It seemed Derek's selfish ways had cost Casey her best friend.

**Dinner that night**

"Daddy, why is everybody so quiet today?" the young, but incisive Marty asked her father. George looked up at his wife and she averted her eyes quickly.

"Everyone just loves this spaghetti. Eat up dear." he lied to the six-year old.

Casey looked up at her mother. She hadn't seen her look this dejected in a very long time. She wouldn't make eye contact with her and this bothered Casey. Her mother was acting so peculiar. Even Marty had picked up on it. Casey looked to Lizzie next. She simply shrugged at her older sister. She turned to Derek next but looked away disgusted. Derek seemed so calm and untroubled. He was merely eating his dinner, though it was even a bit too peaceful for Derek. _This family is wearing thin. Some major problems are being hidden and it's driving everyone nuts!_ She thought to herself.

Casey walked back up the stairs from the dinner that had been laced with great amounts of awkwardness. Casey was so angry with Derek that she wasn't speaking. George and Nora hadn't spoke, nor made eye contact all dinner. Edwin and Lizzie had even seemed a bit too quiet. Casey felt like she was living in a mad house, with people who were slowly turning into zombies!

She sat in her room for a few hours before her thoughts got the better of her. She walked out into the hall. She checked Lizzie's room. She was fast asleep, as was Edwin. She didn't want to go into her mom and George's room so she sighed and walked into her last resorts' room.

Derek was lying on his bed. Above the covers. Only clad in some blue boxer shorts. Casey covered her eyes and frantically whispered, "I'm sorry! I should've knocked but I thought you would be asleep, and clothed!" She quickly exited his room, waiting outside the door and hoping he wasn't too mad at her to come talk to her.

He covered himself with a pillow, nearly jumping out of his skin at the sudden burst in. When she left, he went to his chest of drawers and grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top. He knew she wouldn't have come to _him_ at this hour if she weren't really stressing about something. Truth was that he already knew what was troubling her, because it was him too.

He sat down beside her, resting his back against the wall. He didn't look at her immediately, though nor did she look at him. They let the uncomfortable silence pass over them before Derek broke the silence.

"So, what's up?" he asked coolly.

"Dinner." She replied. "What was going on? I mean, I know you and me had a rather large tiff but what was up with mom and George? They wouldn't even look at each other."

Derek sighed. "Yeah, I left that. Something is defiantly up." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "They must have had a major argument. I've never seen my dad that way."

"Me either." She looked over at Derek. He looked genuinely troubled by this. She hadn't seen him look so caring, yet down. She put her hand on his knee in a friendly sort of way.

"Don't worry Case, I'm sure everything will be ok. They'll get over this one like the other ones." Derek said and looked down at her hand. He knew that this gesture was meant to be sisterly but it was making him uneasy. Casey and he weren't that close, and they rarely shared a sibling moment like this. Without even realizing it, Derek covered her small hand with his. Her hands were soft. He gently moved his along the back of her wrist.

"Yeah, you're right." she said, as he was trying to tear his hand away from hers The moment was defiantly getting more tense by the second. He hoped she didn't think it was- too bad, she was growing edgier than he knew.

She pulled her hand out of his grasp. That strange moment of compassion had been too much for her. She wondered if he felt as perturbed by that as she did. Praying he didn't, she said, "Thanks Derek."

He looked at her. "Don't mention it, sis." He actually hated calling her that, because she truly wasn't, but he added it in there to lighten the weird air around them. He stood and turned back to extend a hand to help Casey up. She smiled at the nice motion and took his hand. She was so much lighter than he had imagined.

"You know, when you're being human, you can be a good brother." She walked into her room. She also distasted calling him her brother. It was just weird.

She went to sleep, though it wasn't a restful one. Dreams of her mom and George arguing plagued her dreams. Emily also invaded her unconscious to tell her what a horrible friend she was for letting her believe Derek liked her. Casey tossed and turned through the morning hours until she finally was brought out of the horrible images by her alarm clock. She desperately hoped today would be a better day.

**That evening after school**

Casey arrived home exhausted mentally and physically. Her lack of sleep caused her to be groggy in all of her classes, earning her a 'C+' on a pop quiz. She had to sit at her lunch table alone because Emily still refused to talk to her. Not to mention the fact that her mom and step-dad hadn't even been in the same room at all that morning. She sighed and threw herself onto her bed. Could her present life get any worse?

As if on cue, a knock on her door caused her to jump. Lizzie poked her head inside of the door. "Umm, Case? Mom and George are calling a family meeting. They want everyone downstairs." Casey nodded and Lizzie walked away.

Casey groaned. _What now?!_ She walked down the flight of stairs to see that the family, minus Derek was all sitting in the living room. She took a seat next to Edwin, wondering who had gotten into trouble this time.

"Ok, we're all here. Well except for Derek, but we'll tell him when he gets home from practice after while." Nora said and then sighed as she knew that the hard part of explaining this was awaiting the children's ears. "George and I are unhappy." She started out simply enough.

"Yes kids, and we have decided that it would be best if we…" George began but couldn't finish. He paused for a minute, nervously glancing at his wife for a moment before trying to continue. "You see, when adults are unhappy… they make… well big decisions that will affect a lot of people." He jumped around the topic.

Casey's eyes grew wide with understanding. _They wouldn't!_

"What George is trying to say is that…" she bit on her lip, a nervous habit she had when she didn't want to tell the girls something. Like when their dog died and she had to explain to them that the neighbor had ran over it. "He and I believe that it would be best if we… if we all had some…" she stopped again. This wasn't easy for them to tell the young children who had grown so attached to one another.

This stammering and beating around the bush went on for another few minutes. Neither young sibling was grasping what their parents were trying to say. Though it's understandable, the babble was enough to thoroughly confound anyone. Casey was on the verge of tears already. She had, not only two years ago, uprooted her entire life so that her mother could marry this man and now that things were _finally_ becoming the slightest bit stable, her mother was divorcing him?! It was unspeakable how wrong this was.

The door was heard and Casey saw Derek come into sight. He looked at the gathered family and said, "What's going on?"

Casey stood. "They're divorcing!" she screamed and ran at Derek. He was so shocked he nearly fell over as she threw herself into his arms. He dropped his hockey equipment and somewhat awkwardly put his arms around the sobbing girl. "You said everything was going to be ok Derek! You told me they'd be fine and get past this one like the others! You told me…" she whispered angrily into his chest trying to hit him but not succeeding, her arms were pinned to his chest through his tight embrace. He could do nothing but stare blankly at his dad while rubbing Casey's head in a soothing way. he was trying to imagine what life was going to be like and it was weird.


	2. Chapter Two

**A/n:** ty for the reviews and favorite listings! That's what made me make a speedy update! Keep it up and I'll put the next chap up reallll soon[[like Saturday mayyybe. 4-1

_**Chapter 2**_

"It's true." George sighed. The three youngest children all gasped. "Nora and I have decided that we aren't meant to be together." He looked down at his hands.

"Casey, Lizzie, and I are moving out of the house tomorrow." She informed them all. Marty ran from the room to hide under the table, Lizzie and Edwin exclaimed in protest, and Casey sobbed harder into her soon-to-be ex-stepbrother's chest. He still had the same dumbfounded look on his face.

"Now kids," George attempted to calm the teens, and the girl who would be a cat. "It's for the better."

"Yeah, maybe the better for you guys, but did you guys even once think about us?" Lizzie yelled.

"No! They didn't! Just like when they threw us all in here together!" Edwin answered.

"You have to understand that this is what has to be done." Nora told them.

"Yes, and the papers were drawn up today. They will be final on June 4th." George announced to end the protests.

"I can't believe this!" Lizzie screamed and ran up to her room, shortly followed by Edwin.

Derek had had enough as well. He directed the crying girl up the stairs and into her room. He sat her down on her bed, taking a seat beside her so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

"I just c-can't… b-believe th-this!" she stuttered through sobs.

"I know. I really didn't think it would come to this." Derek said somberly speaking for the first time.

"Our p-parents are so…" she sniffed. "self-absorbed!"

He shushed the distressed girl and smoothed down her hair. "It will be ok Casey. I mean it. We'll get through this."

**The next day**

Casey and Lizzie stayed home from school in order to pack their things. Their mother hadn't told them yet if they were going to which schools. They both desperately hoped not.

Casey picked up a picture frame from her side table. It showed her family, all of them- Venturis and McDonalds. If she had had any tears left, they would have cascaded down her face like a river. Why couldn't her life remain normal and stable for once? Throughout Casey's whole life, all she could remember was moving here or there. Her mother tended to do things impulsively, for instance this marriage or the divorce. Casey was hoping that for once, once in 18 years, that Nora would have done something right, something worth staying for.

She tossed the frame into a large box that was already near full. She looked around her barren room, just about everything was packed. She sighed. Life at this house had never been completely normal but Casey figured that was how all households with stepfamily were. Maybe she was wrong?

A soft knock at her door startled her. She looked around to see Derek peeking in.

"Hey." He said quietly.

"Hey, you're home early." She said, more of a question than a statement.

He stepped in and stood there feeling awkward. "Yeah, I just figured that you could use some help."

"Thank you so much Derek." She smiled up at him. "There isn't much else to do though."

He laughed lightly. "Yeah, that's what I was hoping for." He winked.

"Argh! You're so lazy!" Casey laughed.

"Yeahhhh…" he said putting an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a side hug. He picked up her box and was going to carry it downstairs for her when he noticed the photograph on top. He set the box down on her bed. "I guess I'm going to miss this." He touched the frame. Casey could've sworn that she saw a tear appear at Derek's eye but when she blinked it was gone.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. When he turned to look at her, she saw that the tear hadn't gone away… it had slid down his face. _Oh my goodness!_ She quickly pulled Derek into an embrace. He slowly broke down in her arms, wrapping her tight in his own. Seeing, hearing, and feeling his pain brought all her tears back to the surface. The hot droplets fell from her face and she began to feel her knees go weak. Casey brought Derek over to the bed and sat down, pulling him with her.

It was a sight to see. The two stepsiblings, normally bickering and never getting along, to be in such a heartfelt embrace. They shared their sobs and pain with one another. The once so sure, so cocky Derek cried like he was young again. The girl who had screamed hatred, held the boy who had been the object of her revulsion.

**Three weeks later**

Casey sat in her mother's apartment, staring out the window. The past couple weeks had been so horrid. She and Lizzie rarely saw their mother anymore; she told them that she was always working. They both had to switch schools- again. And now, Lizzie wasn't talking to anyone, ever. All of these things were working together to drive Casey insane.

This lunacy began to make Casey think about things too much, or so she told herself. She missed the Venturi house something awful; she hadn't been in contact with any of them since that last day. More than that though, she missed Derek. She couldn't believe that after all of their arguments, all of his selfish ways, his hogging of the house, and such, that she desired being back there more than anything at this moment. She craved his company, whether they were quarrelling or otherwise.

_Sure we had our quarrels but we're basically siblings right?_ That's how Casey rationalized the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about him.

She closed her eyes, trying to drive out the thoughts. As of recent, they stayed dry because of the amount of tears she expelled every night. She didn't want to cry anymore but she didn't know what to do. She felt like screaming. She had never been so depressed or so angry before. She couldn't describe the thoughts running through her head or distinguish what emotion was fueling them.

Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore; she got up and walked out into the town. The streets of the small city were rather crowded. Casey hated crowds, but this one was calming her nerves better than the desolate apartment. She looked through the sea of faces, trying to find some trace of familiarity. She found nothing.

She was wearing mentally and physically thin. Casey craved consistency and right now, she had none. She longed for normalcy in a wave of change. Resentment was weighing in her heart. She couldn't take much more of this life, these abrupt lifestyle changes; you can only take someone out of their comfort zone for so long before they snap.

At the moment, Casey thought nothing was going right, something hit her from behind. It knocked the breath out of her and she was falling, face-first into the ground. However, something was keeping her from meeting the concrete in the most ungraceful way imaginable.

"Casey!" a very familiar, very welcomed voice yelled. She realized that it was he that was holding her up.

"Oh my goodness!" she turned around in his arms and slammed her lips into his. She kissed him with ferocity, a need to feel some sort of closeness. He was so surprised but very enthralled. His fingers wound into her hair and hers grasped the back of his neck. How he had longed for this, not only through this past month but longer, so much longer.


	3. Chapter Three

**So, you've probably forgotten about this story… but guess what? I'm backkkk! I know, I know I'm horrid for letting it go this long, but I just read through it and it was like reading someone else's work. Anyway, here's my long overdue update.**

_Chapter 3_

The kiss packed so many emotions all into one moment. Frustration, desperation, sadness, anger, and a previously unrecognized build-up of sexual tension. Casey's hands held Derek so tight against her, as if she needed the closeness to sustain her life. His hands left her smooth hair to softly rub up and down her back.

Finally pulling away, Casey blushed and met his eyes. "Uhm, wow. Nice to see you too Case?" She chuckled a little in return and just put her head down against his chest.

"I'm sorry about that Derek," she mumbled into his chest. "It's just I've been so frayed lately. My life is just so out of control feeling. I've been out here wandering because that apartment feels like a jail cell."

He rested his chin on the top of her head. "I know what you mean, the house feels so empty without you guys." Passersby were staring, as they were still standing in the middle of the sidewalk. "Casey, want to go someone more private so we can talk about this?"

She looked up out of her thoughts and nodded. Pulling away regretfully, she instantly began to feel the coldness and anxiousness creep back into her. He turned seeing a little, Italian restaurant and started for it. She quickly grabbed his hand. He turned back to look at her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze before pulling her a little closer and walked down the street. There was just something inside of her that couldn't let him go. He was the closest thing to love that she had felt since she left the house. It was as if she didn't have a physical connection to him that he may just disappear. She didn't want the feeling of being connected to someone to be fleeting.

As they reach their table, Casey didn't want to lose the closeness so instead of taking the side opposite him, sat down right beside of him in the booth. He didn't seem to mind, though it was slightly concerning him. They ordered their drinks and remained silent while the waiter retrieved them. They glanced over the menu and ordered their food when the waiter returned.

"Case?" Derek finally broke the silence. Her silvery, blue eyes met his. He faltered, forgetting anything he was going to say, and simply stared into her eyes. She looked so lost when he had found her, and here she sat the most vulnerable girl he had ever seen.

As if reading his thoughts she said, "I can't stand it." She paused, staring into his chocolate eyes. "I feel like I'm just going to fall apart. I can't stand so much change. I hate knowing that don't even have a hold on my own life." A tear escaped her eye and she looked down at their laced hands. "This is the most real feeling human interaction I've had in a long time. Lizzie's doesn't talk very much, mom's always gone, and I hate my new school. I'm behind in all of my classes and haven't been able to bring myself to make a single friend."

He pulled his hand from hers and put it around her shoulders comfortingly. She leaned into him, resting her left hand on his chest. "I'm so sorry Casey." He frowned into her hair. "Home life hasn't been great for us either, but it's nothing like yours." He sighed. "Marty's not dealing well, she practically lives under the table now and I don't think she's slept in her bed since you left. She's either in mine or Edwin's. And Edwin… he's normally so cheery, but now he just stays in his room a lot. He even quit soccer."

She raised her head, "He really quit?"

"Yeah, he just lost interest in it."

"It seems to be all that Lizzie has interest in now, she stays outside practicing from the time she gets home until dark." She sighed.

A sad silence passed over them. "What were you doing out around here anyway?" Casey finally realized that she hadn't given any thought as to why Derek was here in her town.

"I knew that you guys had moved somewhere over here and I was just seeing if I could find you and see how you were doing." Truth was that he had came there every Saturday since their move, but he really didn't want to admit that yet.

They both avoided mentioning the kiss, as neither knew how they truly felt about it as of now. Their food came and they ate in silence. Casey scooted ever so slightly closer to him as to still feel the warmth of his body beside her.

Suddenly, putting down her fork she asked, "Is there anything that we can do?"

Not wanting to sound incredibly pessimistic, he simply shrugged. "I don't know, Casey, but I really wish we could figure something out."

A ludicrous thought crossed her mind. "How much money do you have?"

"Uh? A few hundred bucks that I was saving for a new car, why?" he eyed her wary.

She thought about it, she had quite a lot saved up that she had put away for college. She was still going to go, but she might need some scholarships, which shouldn't be too hard for _her_ to obtain. "What if… what if we…" she stopped and shook her head. "Never mind. It's silly." She turned back to her plate.

"No," he put his hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"

Casey hesitated and then burst out. "It's just that I can't stand that place. I don't want to go back. It is so empty. I'm not like Lizzie, she's not happy there, but she has soccer to keep her mind off of things. She'll adjust, she's stronger than me."

He searched her eyes, because he couldn't believe what she was suggesting. "You mean, move out? Where would you go?"

"Any where!" she exclaimed desperately.

"Why don't you come back to the house then?" he asked her.

"I can't do that. It would feel even weirder because all of the happy memories are there and… I don't know. I just couldn't."

"You can't just go out on your own." He stated worriedly.

"Well… I was really thinking…" she couldn't finish the sentence. It was a crazy thought, but it was the only solution that she was coming up with.

**Later That Night**

"You're what?!" Nora shouted. She had came in to find her oldest daughter with boxes and suitcases awaiting her at the door.

"I'm moving out." Casey said flatly. She had made up her mind and her always absent mother was not going to change it.

"With him?!" Nora exclaimed, pointing to the boy she could hardly tolerate over the past few years. He looked alarmed at the slight tone of venom in her voice. Casey stood and faced her mother with her arms crossed across her chest.

"Yes, Mother, with him. I would be moving out soon enough anyway, but with Derek's help I can escape this Hell hole!" her mother had a look of disgusted outrage on her face. "The only thing that's been keeping me here has been Lizzie and it seems as if she's slowly adapting to your sporadic life swapping. But not me, I can't take your snap judgments and quick decisions any longer. It's been killing me knowing that I'm never fully in control of my life, well now I am."

Nora just looked over the irate teen. "Casey, you don't want to do this."

"Yes I do! We've already found somewhere!" Which was the truth, after their meal, Derek had spoken with one of his ex's parents who still loved him. They just happened be in the real estate business and had an apartment that was right in their price range… free. The only stipulation is that Casey be their secretary while their current one was away on maternity leave. Casey thought this to be a bonus.

"Are you two…?" she gestured between the two.

"What? Mother!" Casey ignored the question and busied herself with gathering her things together. Lizzie, who didn't blame Casey for leaving, came to help her.

"You don't know what you're doing Casey. I always thought you to be so intelligent, but moving out and with him. Do you know what this will look like?!" she asked incredulously.

"I don't care." She said every word slowly, emphasizing each one.

"How will you pay for everything? You won't be able to make it my just your income alone. And what happened to going to college? Are you going to throw everything you've worked for away just so that you can shack up with Derek, your _step-brother_?"

"We're not-" Derek was finally fed up and going to defend her, but Casey interrupted him.

"I hate you!" Casey screamed. "Yes, I've worked hard all of my life for good grades and yes I intend to go to college. All that has been done with_out_ your help! All of the constant moving around, getting put behind every time I had to switch schools, and just dealing with all of the drama that you bring into my already hectic life… it's a wonder that I'm not a completely incompetent, self-deprecating woman who's constantly making horrible decisions without thinking of anyone but myself."

Nora stood there with her mouth hanging open. Casey and Derek picked up her things, accompanied by Lizzie, and walked out the door, but not before Casey said, "And he's not my step-brother anymore, remember _Mother_?"


End file.
